Drum dye tester



Oct. 26, I954 J. B. CURLEY DRUM DYE TESTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 2, 1950 Y R: mu ma 5 5 E W J ATTORNEY.

Oct. 26, 1954 JQB. CURLEY DRUM DYE TESTER 2 SheetsSheet 2 Filed Sept. 2, 1950 sm \H. WMH IH KH Qm m.\\ Sm E mu wk lvfi v MM MR P w.

W ZQX K 7 A TTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 26, I954 STATES DRUM DYE TESTER Application September 2, 1950, Serial No. 182,932

12 Claims.

This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for simultaneously collecting a large number of strand sections in a single layer and thereafter subjecting the sections to common treatments. The invention is particularly useful in ascertaining the uniformity of the dye susceptibility of a strand supply, such as in a creel, comprising a multiplicity of yarn ends.

In the manufacturing of yarn of artificial filamentary material including those of staple fiber as well as those of continuous filaments, and yarns of natural fiber, it is highly desirable to be able to collect a sample comprising juxtaposed sections of many yarn ends or packages so that the sections may be simultaneously subjected to similar tests to ascertain the uniformity in properties thereof, and particularly the readiness of which the yarn reacts to a dyeing procedure. For example, it is highly advantageous in a commercial process, such as in the manufacturing of viscose rayon yarn, if many packages may be selected at random from a days run and sections of these packages thereafter subjected to a common testing procedure to determine Within a few hours after the spinning thereof, or an after-treatment following the spinning, Whether the yarn being produced within a given period is meeting the required uniformity in dye absorption. This property is ordinarily referred to in the trade as dye levelness and is usually evaluated visually by those skilled in dyeing operations. It is important also that the results of dye levelness evaluation be obtained under conditions which substantially simulate those under which yarns or fabrics are dyed in commercial operations. The prior art discloses mechanical means for collecting yarn samples, but no satisfactory apparatus or method is available which lends itself readily to control testing of large segments of yarn production while simulating production conditions.

It is an object of the invention to provide a method and an apparatus for collecting a multiplicity of strand sections in parallel arrangement so that after-treatments may be conveniently applied to the collected strand material, and the strand material may be easily inspected as to the degree and uniformity of results obtained by the treatments. It is another object to provide a convenient method and an apparatus for accomplishing dye testing, and particularly for ascertaining the uniformity of dyeing characteristics within a sample group of a large number of sections taken from separate yarn ends or packages. Still another object is to provide a portable apparatus which may be easily installed adjacent a creel or CAD beamer or other textile machine adapted to handle or simultaneously discharge a multiplicity of yarns. Another object. is to provide apparatus having a strand sample supporting member which may be readily transferred from a collection station to a bath, a drier, or other treatment stations. It is also an object to provide a convenient method for preparing and preserving a yarn sample comprising a group of yarn sections extending in parallel and adjacent relationship. Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention and the drawing relating there to in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic View in elevation of the sample-collecting apparatus of the invention and the feed section of a slashing apparatus;

Fig. 2 is an elevation partly in section taken along line IIII' of Fig. 3 of the sample-collecting apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is another section taken along line IIIIII of Fig. 2;. and

Fig. 4 is an elevation View showing a strand sample collector detached from supporting structure illustrated in Fig. 1 and rotatably supported in apparatus for effecting a liquid treatment, 7 According to the present invention, a sheet of parallel juxtaposed strands is collected upon a portable annularly surfaced member which is rotated during collection of the yarn and moved in an axial direction at least the width of the sheet during each revolution so as to collect the yarn sheet in a helical but non-overlapping. pattern. The member is provided with fasteners to secure the ends of the helical yarn sample to the surface and to hold the yarn in a taut or stretched condition at any desired tension. In practicing the invention, the member can be readily lifted from engagement with a driving spindle and moved to a treatment station such as one wherein it is supported in a dye bath with its axis horizontal and its strand supporting surface at least partly submerged within the bath. The treatment may then be effected while rotating the member. The member is preferably constructed so that a heating and/ or cooling medium may be circulated interiorly of the member adjacent the strand-supporting surface. The term strand and yarn are used herein. interchangeably; however, the invention is applicable to other types of strand such as cord, twine, monofilament, and thread whether of artificial or natural filamentary materials.

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate apparatus in which is "supported a yarn sample collecting member 3 comprising a drum surface 4 for receiving and supporting a yarn sheet 6. The yarn collector 3 is simultaneously rotated and moved in a direction longitudinally of its axis of rotation. The collector 3 is positioned in spaced relationship with any strand sheet handling system adapted to discharge a sheet of strand at a positively controlled rate. In the figures shown, the collector is mounted on the frame of the feed end-portion of a slashing machine to receive a sheet of strand from a set of feed rolls Ill. In normal operation of the slashing machine, the strand sheet is normally fed from the left into the nip of the rolls II and i2 and discharged over the top of the roll H3 in a direction toward the right as viewed in Fig. 1 into the remainder of the slashing machine. However, for the purpose of collecting a plural strand sample, the strand sheet 5 may be passed over a roll 13 toward the collector 3. A definite drive ratio is established between the peripheral speed of the rolls Hi and that of the drum surface 4. Such synchronism may be obtained by a chain and sprocket drive therebetween comprising a sprocket wheel I7 mounted coaxially at the end of the roll [2, a sprocket wheel l8 mounted integrally with the drive for the collector 3, and a chain I9 connecting the wheels. An idler wheel keeps the chain taut.

As a result of the difierences in the peripheral speeds of the rolls in and the drum i, the strand sheet 6 is stretched in the portion thereof passing between the roll it and the surface 4 of the drum 3. Sprocket wheels of different diameters may be substituted for either or both of the sprockets H and i8 if a change in the degree of stretching is desired. Usually, the sample collected on the surface of the drum 4 will be stretched approximately the same degree as yarn which is subjected to a commercial slashing operation. The peripheral speeds of the drum 4 and rolls Ill are therefore adjusted to a difference of approximately 6 per cent although other ratios are readily obtainable. The individual strands of the sheet 3 are prevented from rolling over each other by tangling by conventional reeds 24, and 26. Reed 26 may be a fan warping reed, the position of which determines the distance between individual ends thus allowing a close lay of the ends and a change from one size yarn to another by merely adjusting the fan reed. To obtain fur- .ther simulation of conditions to which warp yarns are subjected in the slashing operation, water or other aqueous liquid is sprayed or otherwise distributed upon the sheet 5 by means such as a spray or shower device 28 mounted so as to discharge a liquid upon the sheet after it passes through the reed 26. The main purpose of wetting the sheet as it is wound onto the drum is to prevent swelling when the yarn and drum are placed in the dye tank. Swelling at that time allows the yarns to move and lose their juxtaposed pattern. The strand is wetted preferably after it is passed through all the reeds. There is a swelling of the yarn when wetted but if the sheet is wet before it passes through the last reed then the yarns stick together and make separation at the reed practically impossible.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the collector 3 is provided with stub shaft or trunnion 30 having a journal surface in engagement with a bearing 3|, and a stub shaft or trunnion 33 having a. journal surface in engagement with the bore of an axle 34. The collector 3 is instantly detachable with respect to a carriage comprising the axle 34, the bearing 3|, and a frame 36 which is slidably supported on rods 38 and 39 of a stationary supporting frame Ml. A drive shaft 42 and a countershaft 43 are rotatably supported on axes which are fixed with respect to the frame Ml. Transverse motion is transmitted to the carriage through a rack gear M attached to a lower portion of the frame 35 of the carriage. The rack gear 43 is in driving relationship with a gear 15 keyed to a shaft 46. A bevel gear 4? (shown in Fig. 3) is also secured to the shaft 46 in mesh with a gear 48 secured on the end of the shaft 43. Shaft 43 is driven from shaft 42 by gears 50 and 5! secured respectively to these shafts.

The axle 34 is driven by a gear 53 mounted thereon in mesh with a gear 54 which is slidably but non-rotatably mounted on the shaft 42. The gear 54 as well as the carriage 35 to which it is rotatably secured by an extension 55 of the gear through a frame bearing 55a ma slide relative to the shaft in a direction parallel with the axis of shaft 42. The gear 54 is provided with a key way which is complementary with a spline or key 56 projecting outwardly from the surface of the shaft 42.

The ratios of meshing gears which comprise the system for transmitting the drive from the shaft 42 to the rack gear 44 through the countershaft 43 are selected to give any desired amount of linear movement of the carriage for each revolution of the collector 3. Any arrangement may be adopted which provides sufficient axial movement of the drum to prevent overlapping of the strand sheet being collected thereon.

In using apparatus herein described to collect a strand sheet sample, the end of the sheet 5 is secured to the surface of the drum by a cleat 60 which is tightened against the surface of the drum by turning the cap screw iii. The carriage is started at a position relative to the stationary support frame 40 wherein the rack gear 44 is positioned substantially as shown in Fig. 2, i. e. completely to the end of its ambit to the left. .At the finish of the sample collecting operation, the left-end portion of the rack gear will be meshed with the gear 45. During the movement of the carriage and the drum to the right, a strand sample is collected in a helical pattern upon the drum 3. At the completion of the sample-taking operation, the sheet is secured by a cleat 62 and a cap screw 53. The sheet may be there-after transversely severed in the section adjacent the cleat $2 on the side toward the feed rolls H]. In Fig. 4 is shown a sample section of a yarn sheet collected upon the drum 3 in spaced helices. However, the apparatus of Fig. 2 may be arranged and adjusted to collect the yarn sheet sample with any desired spacing of the helices or no appreciable spacing at all.

In Fig. 4, the drum 3 is supported partly within a tank it on bearings H and 12 which are preferably half-bearings, as shown, to permit instant positioning thereon of the stub shafts or trunnions of the drum 4. The tank H3 is used to contain a liquid for treating the strand sheet while supported on the drum 3. The tank is particularly useful in the practice of this invention for and threaded near the ends of the shafts to receive pipe fittings. For purpose of drying the sample, a heating medium would be used. A heating medium such as steam may be introduced into the drum through a fitting l8 and the stub shaft 33 from a supply line 79. To permit rotation of the drum during introduction of the heating medium, a swivel fitting flit is provided between the line is and the fitting 18; the flow rate of a medium such as hot Water or steam may be controlled by a valve 8|. The stub shaft 35) may be connected in a similar manner with a return line 83. A threaded aperture and a plug or valve is provided at 84 on the end surface of the drum through which to drain heating medium or condensate, to bleed air while being displaced by another fluid, or to break a vacuum, etc.

After a sample has been prepared according to the method and apparatus herein described, it may be preserved for purposes of record or comparison with other samples by coating it with a collodion solution. Another method of preserving the sample is to place thermoplastic film over the sample while it is supported on the drum then apply heat and pressure until the film fuses into adhesive relationship with all the strands of the sample. It is also entirely practicable to use a transparent pressure-sensitive tape, such as transparent regenerated cellulose material coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive material, which can be applied by pressure alone. The sample when treated by any one of these methods may then be removed after loosening the cleats 6i! and E52, and stored or mounted for future reference. By employing the apparatus and the method hereinabove described, a sample comprising a great many separate strands may be easily evaluated for dye levelness and may be very advantageously used wherever it is desired to collect a dense, single-layer sheet of parallel strand sections for the purpose of observing the uniformity of dyeing with respect to a multiplicity of yarn ends. Such a dye test can be completed in a small fraction of the time formerly required for running a test giving comparable information. Moreover, the apparatus lends itself readily to control testing and may be incorporated as an integral part of a machine used in the manufacturing of yarn, for example, a beamer or a slasher.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A method of simultaneously treating sections of a multiplicity of strands comprising forming a continuous one-layer sheet of the strands with the strands extending in juxtaposition longitudinally of the sheet, feeding the sheet onto an annular surface, securing the end portion of the sheet to the surface, rotating the surface while restraining movement of the sheet toward the surface to produce tension therein, moving the surface transversely to the direction of feeding to guide the sheet onto the surface in non-overlapping helices, fastening to the surface a portion of the sheet subsequently wound thereonto, severing the sheet adjacent the last fastened portion exteriorly of the helical section intermediate of the fastened portions, immersing a longitudinal portion of the annular surface in a liquid bath, and rotating the surface and the yarnv sheet section supported thereon to progressively pass the entire sheet section through the bath.

2. A method of simultaneously treating sections of. a multiplicity of strands comprising drawing the strands into a one-layer band in which the strands are in juxtaposition, feeding the band onto a rotating annular surface, moving the surface in a direction parallel to its axis for a distance at least equal to the width of the band to obtain collection of the band in a helical non-overlapping pattern, securing a helical section of the band to the surface by fastening axially-spaced portions of the band to the surface, severing the band adjacent the secured portions exteriorly of the helical section, transferring the helical section while supported by the surface to a fluid treatment station, and applying the fluid to the band while supported on the surface.

3. A method as in claim 2 comprising also the steps of applying an adhesive transparent material to the surface of the band section, and removing the adhesively bound band section from the member comprising the supporting surface.

4. Apparatus for collecting and supporting a helical sheet of a multiplicity of parallel strands comprising a drum, trunnions extending coaxially from each end of the drum, a carriage having a bearing for receiving one trunnion and a rotatably supported shaft recessed at one end to receive the other trunnion, means for securing the recessed shaft and the drum in non-rotatable relationship, a base for movably supporting the carriage, means for moving the carriage relative to the base in a direction parallel to the axis of the recessed shaft, a drive shaft rotatably supported by the base and having a fixed axis parallel to the axis of the recessed shaft, a sliding gear mounted non-rotatably on the drive shaft to slide longitudinally therealong, said sliding gear having an extension in constant bearing relationship with the carriage, a gear fixed on the recessed shaft in mesh with the sliding gear, a

Jack gear mounted on the carriage extending parallel to the axis of the drive shaft, a counter shaft rotatably supported by thebase parallel to the drive shaft, means connecting the drive shaft and. the counter shaft in drive relationship, means connecting the auxiliary shaft and the rack gear in drive relationship, means for feeding the sheet to the drum surface at a rate proportional to the speed of the drive shaft, and means for fastening the sheet to the drum at least at two longitudinally spaced points along the drum surface.

5.. In a combination of apparatus for preparing a yarn sheet sample comprising a multiplicity of sections of yarn ends, the feed section of a yarn slashing machine comprising a plurality of vertically spaced parallel rolls in positive drive relationship; and a sheet collecting device in drive relationship with the rolls of the feed section comprising a portable drum having trunnions extending coaxially from each end thereof, a carriage having an open semi-circular bearing for receiving one trunnion and a rotatably supported shaft recessed at one end to receive the other trunnion, means for securing the recessed shaft and the drum for rotation together, a base for movably supporting the carriage, a drive shaft rotatably supported in the base having a fixed axis parallel to the axis of the recessed shaft, a

with the sliding gear, a rack gear mounted on the carriage extending parallel to the drive shaft, a counter shaft rotatably supported by the base parallel to the drive shaft, means connecting the drive shaft and the counter shaft in drive relationship, means connecting the counter shaft and the rack gear in driving relationship, means connecting the feed rolls of the slasher and the drive shaft in drive relationship, means for fastening the sheet to the drum at at least two longitudinally spaced points along the drum surface.

6. An apparatus as in claim 5 comprising liquid supply means mounted adjacent the yarn path between the drum and the slasher rolls for discharging liquid onto the yarn sheet.

7. An apparatus as in claim 5 comprising at least one reed positioned in the path of yarn extending between the drum and the slasher rolls to facilitate guiding of the yarn upon the drum and to maintain the yarn sections separately from each other.

8. A method of simultaneously treating sections of a multiplicity of strands comprising drawing the strands into a one-layer band in which the strands are parallel and substantially side by side, feeding the band onto an annular rotating surface, moving the surface in a direction parallel to its axis for a distance to a width at least equal to the band to obtain collection of the band in a helical non-overlapping pattern, securing a helical section of the band to the surface at two points which are spaced in a direction parallel to the axis of the surface, severing the band adjacent the secured portions exteriorly of the helical section, transferring the helical section while supported by the surface to a dye bath, rotating the surface and the section for a predetermined time, removing excess bath liquid by rotation of the surface and the sample, subjecting the surface and the sample to a drying medium.

9. A method for collecting a one-layer sample sheet of parallel yarn sections comprising passing the sheet over the rolls of the feed-section of a slasher, feeding the sheet onto a drum, rotating the drum in fixed speed ratio with the slasher feed rolls, moving the drum in an axial direction at a rate proportional to its speed of rotation to form the yarn sheet into a non-overlapping helical pattern, securing axially-spaced portions of the sheet to the drum, and severing the sheet adjacent the secured portions exteriorly of the helical section collected on the drum.

10. A method of collecting and dyeing a sheet of parallel yarn sections comprising passing the sheet over a set of rolls in positive drive relationship with each other, feeding the sheet onto a drum spaced laterally from the rolls, said sheet being passed through at least one reed between the rolls and the drum, spraying the sheet as it passes onto the drum, rotating the drum in fixed speed ratio with the rolls, moving the drum in an axial direction at a rate proportional to its speed of rotation, forming the yarn sheet in a non-overlapping helical pattern on the surface of the drum with the peripheral speed of the drum being greater than the peripheral speed of the rolls, securing the sheet to the drum at axiallyspaced sections thereof; severing the sheet adjacent the secured sections exteriorly of the helical section collected on the drum, and thereafter partly immersing and rotating the drum and the helical section within a dye bath.

11. Apparatus for collecting and dyeing a sample sheet of parallel juxtaposed yarn sections arranged in a single layer comp-rising a drum having trunnions extending coaxially from each end thereof means for rotatably supporting the drum comprising rotatable means for engaging one of the trunnions in interlocking relationship for driving the drum, and a bearing in coaxial relation with the rotatable means for engaging the other trunnion, said bearing being accessible to its mating trunnion from a direction extending laterally with respect to its axis to render the drum readily detachable from the support means; means for feeding a sheet of yarns at a predetermined rate toward the drum when disposed in said supporting means; means for driving said rotatable means of the supporting means at a greater peripheral speed than that of the delivery means; means for moving the supporting means in a direction parallel to the axis of the rotatable means and the bearing thereof in synchronism with said driving means; and an open-top dye bath container having upwardlyfacing half-bearings for receiving the trunnions of the drum and disposing a longitudinal portion of said drum within the container below a predetermined bath level.

12. Apparatus for collecting a sample sheet of parallel juxtaposed yarn sections arranged in a single layer comprising a drum having trunnions extending coaxially from each end thereof; means for rotatably supporting the drum comprising rotatable means for engaging one of the trunnions in interlocking relationship for driving the drum, and a bearing in coaxial relation with the rotatable means for engaging the other trunnion said bearing being accessible to its mating trunnion from a direction extending laterally with respect to its axis to render the drum readily detachable from the support means; means for feeding a sheet of yarns at a predetermined rate toward the drum when disposed in said supporting means, means for driving said rotatable means of the supporting means at a greater peripheral speed than that of the delivery means, and means for moving the supporting means in a direction parallel to the axis of the rotatable means and the bearing thereof in synchronism with said driving means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 940,080 Sipp Nov. 16, 1909 1,962,670 Labora June 12, 1934 2,167,365 Little et al July 25, 1939 2,325,060 Ingersoll July 27, 1943 2,447,402 Florjancic et al. Aug. 17, 1948 2,478,763 Kadish Aug. 9, 1949 

